Events Search and Views Navigation
March 2015
Systems Thinking in School Gardens and Beyond
March 7, 2015—Facilitated by Dr. Koh Ming Wei. Open to all K-8 teachers. Participants will learn and practice “systems thinking” skills and acquire tools that will be applied to learning gardens and other curriculum designs. We will practice making the implicit connections within and between systems in the garden explicit, for authentic assessment and exciting learner outcomes.
Find out more »Honoka‘a Seed Exchange
March 8, 2015—The Spring 2015 Honoka‘a Seed Exchange and Potluck will be held on March 8 from 12:30 to 4:30 p.m. at the Honoka‘a People's Theatre. All community members are invited to share and take home seeds from neighbors and practiced seed-savers of the area. There will be free seeds and catalogs from suppliers such as Baker's Creek, Johnny's Seeds, Territorial Seed, and Southern Exposure Seed Exchange. Local seed expert Lyn Howe will give a presentation on seed-saving and answer questions from the community about seeds and gardening. This is a potluck event so attendees are asked to bring a bowl and utensils.
Find out more »Designing and Developing a School Garden Program
March 28, 2015—Facilitated by Debbie Follett. Open to all K-12 teachers. Learn how to design and develop a school garden to not only grow healthy veggies, but also engage students with math, language arts, science, nutrition, and general learner outcomes. By showing children how to grow their own vegetables they will develop an awareness and appreciation of place—a place where they can create, nurture and expand. The workshop will include a tour of the Hilo Union Elementary School garden, a hydroponics demonstration and a discussion that will focus on sourcing funds and sponsors for your school garden program. Each participant will receive a free hydroponic kit.
Find out more »The Secret Life of Soil
March 28, 2015—Facilitated by Krista Donaldson & Megan Dehning Learned. Open to all K-12 teachers. This workshop will provide teachers with three simple, hands-on, soil studies that can be replicated in their classrooms. We will learn to model successful science and garden teacher collaboration, demonstrate scientific investigations in the garden, and engage and interest teachers in composting and soil science.
View or download the Teachers Teaching Teachers Workshops poster (PDF).
For more information and to register, contact Donna Mitts at dmitts@kohalacenter.org or 808-936-2117.
Find out more »April 2015
Native Plants and Place-Based Education
April 25, 2015—Facilitated by Kamuela Naihe. Open to all K-12 teachers. Discover how we can deepen our relationships to place, using the ahupua‘a of Kealakekua and the gardens as the foundation. We will expand our understanding and appreciation of native plants through mo‘olelo, variety names, characteristics and uses. Kamuela will lead us on a walking tour of the Amy Greenwell Ethnobotanical Garden through different growing zones and share how to incorporate native plants into school gardens. We will harvest from the garden and prepare a lunch together.
View or download the Teachers Teaching Teachers Workshops poster (PDF).
For more information and to register, contact Donna Mitts at dmitts@kohalacenter.org or 808-936-2117.
Find out more »July 2015
Summer Seed Exchange (Captain Cook)
July 18, 2015—Tropical Edibles Nursery is hosting a free Summer Seed Exchange. The event opens with a “seed talk story” with Nancy Redfeather and Momi Subiano at 11:30 a.m., followed by a potluck lunch at noon and a seed exchange starting at 12:30 p.m.
Find out more »August 2015
‘Ai Pono Workshop: Connecting School Gardens to the Worldwide Voyage of Hōkūle‘a and Hikianalia (Kailua-Kona)
August 29, 2015—The content of this ‘Ai Pono Workshop is designed for teachers of grades 3 through 12. This workshop covers two topics: Building and Using a Solar Dehydrator: A STEM Learning Project and Making Cordage from Hawaiian Native Plants.
Find out more »September 2015
Composting and Food Safety for School Gardens (Kealakekua)
September 12, 2015—This workshop is designed for teachers of grades K through 12. Every teacher who uses a school garden should be very familiar with “good agricultural practices,” or GAPs, for safely growing and harvesting food that will be consumed by students.
Find out more »October 2015
Giant Pumpkin Contest (Waimea)
October 3, 2015—Head on over to the Waimea Town Market at Parker School to partake in the Seventh Annual Big Island Giant Pumpkin Contest. For those of you interested in submitting a pumpkin into the contest, registration begins at 9 a.m. and weigh-ins will take place at 10 a.m. There will also be several “Cooking with Pumpkins” contests as well as a “Best Tasting Tomato” contest. For more information, please view/download the event flyer.
Find out more »Hawai‘i Farm to School Month Events (Hawai‘i Island)
October 8–27, 2015—October is Farm to School Month in Hawai‘i! We invite you to join us for one or more of our farm to school events on Hawai‘i Island this month to experience for yourself the engaging learning and tasty foods being served at some of our leading farm to school sites. Visit koha.la/f2s2015 for a full list of events and to RSVP.
Find out more »